Class record · LING · MCAS

LING 1201

General Linguistics · 1 instructor on record · 2 sections

What the course score is made of

85BC evaluations2 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2025 – Spring 2026

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

26thMore challenging than 26% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

86BC — “Intellectually Challenging”2 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

25thMore work than 25% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

40BC — “Workload”2 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

This course is an introduction to the scientific study of language. Students learn to "think like a linguist" through hands-on analysis of sounds, structures, and meanings from a variety of languages. We use these tools to study some of the deep similarities and structured differences across languages, and practice turning a linguistic perspective on topics in popular discourse. Although required for Linguistics majors and minors, the course is also designed to complement studies in a variety of fields. Offered each Fall semester. No prerequisites. (Formerly LING3101)

The only instructor on record

2 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Christopher GeisslerEastern Slavic and German Studies Provisional	912 records	25th	26th	803 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Christopher Geissler is the only instructor with evaluation records for LING 1201, so the number is a record, not a position. It rests on 2 records, which is thin — read it as provisional. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.

Also taught by Christopher Geissler

6 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
LING 3101General Linguistics	24 records	76
LING 4337Phonetics and Phonology	22 records	79
LING 1307Writing Systems of the World	11 record	83
LING 2355Writing Systems of the World	11 record	87
LING 2433Phonetics and Phonology	11 record	77
LING 2701Linguistics and Artificial Intelligence	11 record	70

Other LING classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
LING 3101General Linguistics	24 records	76
LING 3102Syntax and Semantics	14 records	91
LING 2377Language and the Study of Africa	13 records	83
LING 3103Language and Language Types	13 records	86
LING 2379Language and Ethnicity	12 records	90
LING 3104Formalism and Functionalism in Linguistics	12 records	96

The line

All 13 items · means across 2 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

9454th pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9775th pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

9560th pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

9770th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9254th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9250th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

8614th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

9258th pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

9574th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9782nd pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

4025th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

8626th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

8213th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

2 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Christopher Geissler	Spring 2026	01	93	86	40
Christopher Geissler	Fall 2025	01	88	84	40

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.